One of the greatest assets our community and higher education facilities have is its students.
It is imperative that students enrolled in one of our colleges or universities are empowered with resources. Today, students are comprised of recent high school graduates, those already in the work force (including parents), first generation students, skilled trade workers, and transitioning Veterans. All of them must be made aware of, and have access to, all of the resources our institutions have so that they (the students) can make informed choices regarding majors and programs of study. Coinciding with recourses, the tools to complete a program of study effectively and efficiently must be provided as well.
Our education institutions must remain a safe place for students of all genders, age, race, religion, political ideology, special needs, and disability.
It must be made clear that our education institutions have a zero tolerance for anyone who engages in conduct that places the safety of a student or professor at risk, or engages in hate crimes and bias incidents. Therefore, budgeting considerations must be made for the University Police Services to ensure they are properly equipped to handle adverse situations on any campus. University Police Services remain our higher education facilities first responders.
Higher education in the state of Nevada must be affordable.
Particularly for Nevada residents but strategies must be in place for the recruitment of non-Residents, including Veterans transitioning from military service. Currently the average annual in-state college tuition in Nevada is close to nine-thousand dollars a year. Depending on which campus is attended and the costs for off campus living and books/supplies, that annual number can easily quadruple. To prevent an enrollment cliff, non-resident transitioning Veterans should be permitted to attend one of the higher education facilities in Nevada at the same tuition cost as a resident. It is vital to the state of Nevada that our two main universities preserve their top tier research Institute classification and to accomplish that, combined with ensuring higher education is affordable, the Nevada System of Higher Education must receive increased funding.